Oil cooler



Jan. 12, 1937. L. Macul-:N 2,067,721

\ I oIL no oLER Filed Feb. 25, 1952' 4 sheetsheet 1 La" f i\\\\ ff Jan. 12, 1937. Q 1 MCCUEN v 2,067,721

OIL COOLER Filed Feb. 23, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1 Ulli!! :mi mm;

abbot/4.110

Jan. 12, 1937. c. L. Mc'cUEN l 2,067,721Y

mntoz Patented Jan. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to novel means for cooling an internal combustion engine and the lubricating oil employed therein; and it resembles the invention described in the Schittke Patent No. 1,909,637 which vwas issued on May 16, 1933, in that it may include means for operating an oil pump by. a direct and co-axial extension of a cam shaft-said. pump'and an oil cooler being preferably carried in an external and accessible position by a housing which extends over a sprocket gear; but, in the present invention, the oil pump is regularly fed, in a manner enabling it ordinarily to serve as a booster pump, through said cam shaft,-being included in a closed loop and associated with .a novel switch device in a manner which rendersthemaintenance of circulation of oil through said loopy dependent upon the frictional resistance therein. A second or service pumpis so employed, in connection with the mentioned switch device, as to assure a supply of oil to the engine bearings at alltimes.

In case it is desired to provide for the direct operation of the engine water pump which circulates water through the oil cooler from a fan shaft of the engine, the body of said pump (and/or that'of said oil cooler) may be cast integral with said gear housing; and, to provide the mentioned switch device, one of the bearings of the camshaft may include or `be surrounded by anapertured shell element about which-and within which annular passages are providedthe construction here referred to being such as to assure flow of oil through said shell in one direction only, or in neither direction,

- according to the conditions existing in the mentioned loop.

The mentioned oil cooler is preferably of the Ramsaur- Chase type (similar to that described and claimed in the Ramsaur and Chase Patent No. 1,902,970 which was issued on March 28, 1933) in that it may include a set of cylindrical tubes having hex ends through which water may de'- scend while ther oil to be cooled is advanced transversely between said tubes; but, in the present instance, the oil is not permitted or obliged to descend into an oil pan (wherein it might be' unduly re-heated in advance of use) but is fed,v through said switch device, into a conduit leading to the engine bearings.

Other objects of the present invention, including the employment of a single main casting to provide a gear housing, the outer walls of anoil cooler, an outer wall of a water pump and waterdelivery passages, may be best appreciated from I the following description of an illustrative embodiment' thereof, taken inconnection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view showing parts of an engine equipped with an embodiment of the present invention;-oil pump parts being broken away to slightly different planes.

Figure 2 is a View, taken substantially as suggested by the broken line 2-2 of Figure 1, but with parts in elevation and other parts cut away to a deeper level.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional View, taken substantially as indicated by the line 3-3 of Figures 1 and 2 but showing the core of the oil cooler mainly in plan.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective View of the main casting and oil cooler assembly shown in the preceding gures:

Figure 5.isa more or lessdiagrammatic view of an engine lubricating system utilizing the present invention.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional View, taken substantially as indicated by the lines 6-6 of Figures 1 and 5.

Referring first to conventional parts of that embodiment of the present invention which has been selected for purposes of illustration, an engine block II is shown as having secured therebelow an oil pan I2 and as comprising (together with numerous usual parts) a crank shaft I3, and a cam shaft I3,-the latter being driven from the former by means of a sprocket chain and gears I 4, I4. Gear I4' is shown as enclosed within a housing I5, `secured at the front of the block II; and this housing may be formed integral with or support essential elements of an engine and oil cooling system-such as an oil pump O. P., an oil cooler O. C. and/or a water pump W. P. or parts thereof.

To drive the oil pump O. P., when positioned as shown, cam-shaft I3 may carry, by means of screws I6`(shown as serving also to retain the gear 14') a plate I'I having a non-circular opening at IIL-the parts last referred to being employed to transmit rotation to an extension shaft I9, intertting within said opening. The shaft I9 is shown as extending through a bearing 20 integral with an oil pump casing 2I,-the latter being seated in a suitable opening 22 in the front wall 23- of the gear housing I5 provided by the main casting above referred to. This oil pump may comprise, in addition to the shaft I9 (hereinshown as hollow Aand as adapted to provide a normal oil feed passage 24, co-axial with a main oil conduit 25 in the shaft I 3) gears 26 and 2'I, in casing 2l, respectively carried by the extension shaft I9 and by a parallel short shaft 28; and the pumped oil may normally exit from the pump O. P. through a pipe 29, connected with the oil cooler O. C. or with any desired oilconditioning unit. y As may be best appreciated by an `examination of Figures 1, 5 and 6, a preferred type of lubricating system utilizing mentioned parts may include not only the mentioned main oil conduit 25, preferably provided in shaft I3 and fed by a service pump O. P'., in the oil pan I2, but also a branch or distribution conduit 3I, leading to" any desired additional bearings 32,-including,

for example, those which may supportthe crankshaft I3; and said system is preferably of 'figure- 8 form,-the oil pump O. P. and oilVV cooler being included in a loop conduit 33, through which the cooled or otherwise conditioned oil is normally advanced to a switch device S. D., now

to be described. y i Y The foremost bearing of the shaft I3 is shown as comprising a shell-element 34 having a single aperture 35 therein, this shellbeing surrounded by a fixed annulus 36 whichprovides a peripheral channel or groove 3l, adapted to receive oil from the conduit 33 or through the aperture 35; Vand the `shaft I3',is shown as provided, within the shell 34with a corresponding peripheral channel 38,-this being rin communication-with the main conduit 25 by Way of a plurality of radial passages `39. Y The construction here referred to Y is such that, assuming the output of the respective oilpumps O. P. and O. P'. to be equal, oil

advanced through the main conduit 25 may normally continue throughthe oil-conditioning loop 33, thence advancingA through the channel 3l, exterior to the shell 34,`into the branch conduit 3 I, or its equivalent; but said construction will be seen to be such that, .in case of any stoppage in the loop conduit 33, oil advanced. through the main conduit `25 may `exit therefrom throughA the opening 35 in shell 34 directly into'the branch conduit 3I,-assuring an adequate supply of oil y conditioning loop conduit 33, ,orits equivalent,

the pump O. P may be provided with novel meansrendering the eiciency thereof dependent upon l the frictional resistance encountered by the pumped oil inadvancing through said loop circuit. `For example, Va cover element 40 of said pump may provide not only a passage 4I.through which oil mayv normally advance from the interior of the extension shaft I!!` into the feed chamber of said pump, but also na normally closedby-pass opening 42, conditionally establishing a direct communication between a feed chamberand a delivery chamber of said pump. The opening 42 may be normally closed by a ball-valve` element 43 and an adjustable compression spring 44 within a threaded thimble 45,-the latter being shown as received within a suitable boss 46 upon the cover element 4D; and it will be understood that whenever the pressure within the delivery Lchamber of the pump O P. rises above a predetermined value, as by reason of any clogging of the cooler O. C., a by-passing of the pumped oil diminishes the efficiency of said pump- O. P. to any desired degree. A spring 48 is shown as seated between a shoulder 49,.provided withinv the end of the shaft I3', and a shoulder 50 (provided upon the inner end of the extension shaft IS) and as serving yieldably to maintain these parts in a non-chattering co-axial relationship;V

and lubricating passages 5I are shown as extending through the shaft I9 to thebearing 2U; butv the exact details of the construction here referred to will be understood to be of relatively minor importance.

The cooler O. C. preferably comprises, in addition to a back wall 52 and side walls 59, 59 provided' by the lmain casting, a removable front plate 54. The latter is shown as secured to the main casting by bolts or screws 55 and as adapted,

in turn, to support an oil cooler core unit removable therewith and connected into the oil conditioning loop conduit 33 by means of threaded fittings 55, 56'. The oil cooler vcore unit may Vcomprise any suitable numberrof parallel tube elements 5l, sofdisposed'as to 'permit cooling water tok descend therethrough while providingH Valsoforthe lateral advance of oil therebetween;

Y ttings 56, 56 aresecured; and, if desired, abutting edges of mentioned elements being soldered together, additional :reinforcement may be provided by means such as a binding'collar or collars lill.v The latter, if provided, maybe L-shaped in cross sectionalV outline "and-may intert vwith, the upper and/or lower portions of the mentioned plates 58,58'aand/or headers 53, 53,' and/or hex ends 'of the tubes-5l. This construction will be seen to `,loe vsuch as to permit the cooling water, from any desi-red source, to advance-not `only through the described unit but also, in a suitable lm, externally thereof.

TheV cooling water circuit employed herein may be substantially the same as that described inthe mentioned Schittke patent. Th'at is to say, the mentioned main casting may upwardly terminate in a substantially cylindrical portion 6I, adapted to serve as an exterior wall element receiving the rotor 62 of water pump W. P.,-said rotor being shown as secured upon and driven through -a shaft 63;. This shaft may carry also an engine cooling fan B4'and'the ends of said shaft mayv be receivedin a bearing organization 65, received within and secured to the cylindrical portion 6I of said main casting. Water at a suitable 1ow'(or high) temperature may enter the pump W. P. through a tubulation 66; and, in

case itis to be advanced from the oil cooler O. P.

directly to theA engine block I I, such advance may be Veffected through passages 61.

may open directly into the jacket provided by said block.

These areY shown as provided in said main casting and they` VExcept as features thereof may Vbe used for heating effects when required, it will be understood that the described system aims not only at lubrication but at coolingcooling effect being throughboth the water and the oil. When the temperature of the oil is so low as to require no cooling, the resistanceof lthe cooler may be such as to yreduce or obviate flow therethrough.`

' Otherwise, sc long as the cooler' is not clogged,

the two oil pumps cannot operate individual circuits because, to do this, oil wouldv have to pass through the opening 35,4in theshell of described switchdevice S. DI, in opposite directions at the same time. rIf the twoV oil pumps vary in capacity orin pumping eiect,fthere will be a. `iiow through said opening 35 in one direction or the other;

includes'a lubricating circuit of figure-8 form; in whichthedescribed'switch device StD. serves for-'the connection of an oil-conditioning loop conduit :with a--main conduit, and in which the main conduitfanda-branch conduit together comprise a larger loop which includes the engine bearings and the oill'pan,-suitably tempered oil being always advanced therethru.

Although the foregoing description has included complete details of but one embodiment of the present invention, it should be understood that not only are there features thereof which might be independently employed but also that rnumerous modiiications, additional to those suggested herein, might easily be devised by workers skilled in the lubrication arts and familiar with the foregoing-all wit-hout departure from the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. Ina lubricating system for internal combustion engines: a main oil conduit g a switch device having an outlet which leads to bearings to be lubricated; and an oil-conditioning loop so connected with said main oil conduit, through said switch device, as normally to deliver conditioned oil to said outlet leading to bearings.

2. In a lubricating system for internal combustion engines: a main oil conduit; a switch device having an outlet which leads to bearings to be lubricated; and an oil-conditioning loop so connected with said main oil conduit, through said switch device, as normally to deliver conditioned oil to said outlet,-each of said conduits being provided with a pump, and the pump in said oilconditioning loop being adapted normally to function as a booster pump.

3. In a system of the general character described: a switch device in the form of an apertured sleeve surrounding a hollow member providing a main conduit,an annular channelbeing provided within the sleeve in communication with said conduit and an additional channel being provided without the sleeve and in communication with the first mentioned channel and additional conduits in communication with the last-mentioned channel.

4. In a lubricating system, a lubricant supply 1 conduit, a lubricant service conduit, a lubricant conditioning conduit through which lubricant flows at a rate which varieswith its condition, a lubricant temperature regulator in the lubricantv conditioning conduit; means lconnecting the lubricant supply conduit, the lubricant service conduit. and both ends of the lubricant conditioning conduit and aording uninterrupted communication therebetween, .and means'for advancing lubricant from the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit through the lubricant conditioning conduit.` v v 6. In a lubricating system, alubricant supply conduit, a lubricant service conduit, `a lubricant conditioning conduit through which lubricant flowsv at a rate which varies with its condition, means connecting the lubricant supply conduit, the lubricant service'conduit and both ends of the lubricant conditioning conduitand affording unsupply conduit to the lubricant service conduitl through the lubricant conditioning conduit, including a pump in the lubricant supply conduit and a pump in the lubricant conditioning conduit.

7. In a lubricating system, a lubricant supply conduit, a lubricant service conduit, a lubricant conditioning conduit through which lubricant iiows at a rate which varies with its condition, means connecting the lubricant supply conduit, the lubricant service conduit and both ends of the lubricant conditioning conduit and affording uninterrupted communication therebetween, means for advancing lubricant from the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit through the lubricant conditioning conduit, including a pump in the lubricant supply conduit and a pump in the lubricant conditioning conduit, and means rendering the effectiveness of the pump in the lubricant conditioning conduit dependent upon the condition of the lubricant.

8. In a lubricating system, a lubricant supply conduit, a lubricant service conduit, a lubricant conditioning conduit through which lubricant ows at a rate which varies with its condition, means connecting the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit and to one end of the lubricant conditioning conduit and the other end of the lubricant conditioning conduit to the lubricant service conduit and affording uninterrupted communication therebetween, and means for advancing lubricant from the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit through the lubricant conditioning conduit.

9. In a lubricating system, a lubricant supply conduit, a lubricant service conduit, a lubricant conditioning conduit through which lubricant ows at a rate which varies with its condition, means connecting the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit and to one end of the lubricant conditioning conduit and the other end of the lubricant conditioning conduit to the lubricant service conduit and affording uninterrupted communication therebetween, means for advancing lubricant from the lubricant supply conduit to the lubricant service conduit through the lubricant conditioning conduit, including a pump in the lubricant supply conduit and a pump in the lubricant conditioning conduit, and means rendering the effectiveness of the pump in the lubricant conditioning conduit dependent upon the condition of the lubricant.

10. In a fluid transfer system, a uid supply conduit, a iluid service conduit, a fluid conditioning conduit through which fluid ilows at a rate the fluid supply conduit, the uid service conduit and both ends of the fluid conditioning conduit and affording uninterrupted communication therebetween, and means for advancing fluid from the fluid supply conduit to the uid service conduit through the fluid conditioning conduit.

11. In a. fluid transfer system, a fluid supply conduit, a fluid service conduit, a fluid conditioning conduit` through which fluid ows at a rate which varies with its condition, means connecting the fluid supply conduit to the fluid service conduit and to one end of the fluid conditioning conduit and the other end of the fluid conditioning conduit to the fluid .service conduit and affording uninterrupted lcommunication therebetween, means for advancing ,fiuid from the kfluid supply conduit to the fluidservice conduit through the fluid conditioning conduit, including a. pump in the uid supply conduit Aand a pump in the fluid conditioning conduit, and ,means rendering the effectiveness of the pump in the fluid conditioning conduit dependent upon the condition of the fluid,

12. In a fluid transfer system, a hollow shaft Which constitutes a conduit., an annular member which encircles the hollow shaft, a conduit con- -nected to the annular member, orifces'ln the hol;-

low shaft and the Vannular member affording communication between the mentioned conduits, and a. passage which interconnects the mentionedV conduits. Y v

13. In a fluid transfer system', a hollow shaft which constitutes a'conduit, an annular member which encircles the hollow shaft, an annular mem-v ber whichfencircles the first-specified annular membenvan annular groove between the specified annular members, an annular groove between the first-specified annular member and the hollow shaft, an orifice in the'hollow shaft which affordsV the first-specified annular groove near the secondspecified orifice, and a conduit whose ends communicate with the`rst-mentioned conduit and the first-specified Vannular groove at a distance from the second-specified orifice.V

' CHARLES L. MCCUEN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTON.

Patent No. 2,067,721. Januar;

CHARLES L. MOCUEN.

or appears in the above numbered In the grant, line 6, title of i l It is hereby certified that err requiring correction as follows: tion, for "AIB COOLERS" read OIL COOLERS; page 3, second column,

75, claim 10, after the word "rate" insert which Varies with its c tion, means connecting; and that the said Letters Patent should be with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the re of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of March, A. D. 193'?.

Henry Van Arsda. Acting Commissioner of Pe (Seal) CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,067,721. January l2, 195'? CHARLES L. McCUEN.

It is hereby Certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the grant, line 6, title of invention, for "AIRCOOLERS" read OIL COOLERS; page 5, second column, line '75, claim lO, after the word "rate" insert which varies with its condition, means connecting; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of March, A. D. 193'?.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,067,721. January 12, 193'?.

CHARLES L. MCCUEN.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the grant, line 6, title of invention, for "AIR COOLERSn read OIL COOLERS; page 5, second column, line '75, claim lO, after the word. "rate" insert which varies with its condition, means connecting; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 16th day of Maron, A. D, 1957.

Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

